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THE UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH

PACIFIC

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

FRAMEWORK

Responsible Officer: Executive Director of Finance Approving Authority: Finance & Investments Committee Date Approved: 15 April 2019 Effective Date: 1 June 2019 Review Date: 15 April 2020

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Contents 1. Background ............................................................................................................................................... 3

2. Framework Purpose ................................................................................................................................. 3

3. Overall Intention of the suggested Framework: ..................................................................................... 3

4. Scope ......................................................................................................................................................... 5

5. Definitions ................................................................................................................................................ 5

6. USP Project Management Model ............................................................................................................ 8

6.1 Project Management Team (Task-force or Matrix team) ................................................................. 8

6.2 Project Manager/ Co-coordinator ..................................................................................................... 9

6.3 Five Phases of Project Management ............................................................................................... 11

Phase 1: Project Initiation ...................................................................................................................... 11

Stakeholder Analysis & Consultations ................................................................................................... 11

Phase 2: Project Planning ....................................................................................................................... 13

Project Budgeting ................................................................................................................................... 14

Phase 3: Project Execution ..................................................................................................................... 14

Phase 4: Project Performance/Monitoring ........................................................................................... 14

Phase 5: Project Closure ......................................................................................................................... 15

Project Reporting.................................................................................................................................... 16

Project Life Cycle Assessment ................................................................................................................ 17

6.4 Risk Assessment ............................................................................................................................... 18

6.5 Issue Management Framework for Specific Projects ...................................................................... 21

6.6 Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Plan ............................................................................ 21

6.7 Project Succession Planning/ Knowledge Management................................................................. 22

6.8 Maintaining USP Project Register .................................................................................................... 22

Appendix: .................................................................................................................................................... 24

Reference .................................................................................................................................................... 25

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1. Background

The University is committed to the adoption of a standard approach to project management that reflects

the Mission and Values of the University and the consistent use of project management procedures and

templates to facilitate the implementation of strategic priorities. This framework is designed to specify

the minimum essential elements in the management of projects to assist in articulating scope, involving

stakeholders, managing risk and maximizing project benefits.

2. Purpose

This framework establishes a University-wide approach to the initiation, planning, implementation and

closure of projects. It describes the minimum requirements for the governance and management of

projects across the University.

This framework is designed to improve the way in which University projects are managed as they progress

to completion and to increase the visibility of projects and our processes to the University community.

Not all projects require high and complex levels of governance, documentation and reporting and the aim

of the project management model outlined by this framework is to provide a set of guidelines that can be

adapted to suit the requirements of each project. Project Sponsors and Project Directors may implement

other equivalent governance structures and documentation requirements at their discretion after

considering the minimum requirements, particularly for academic-related projects and research projects

conducted by Research Institutes for which the University has established approaches to research and

development projects.

3. Overall Intention of the Framework

There are 6 major reasons (6Cs) why a Project Management Framework needs to be used by the University

to manage its Projects:

Consistency - it is through a formal framework that everything can be consistent throughout the

organization. Further the approach towards projects becomes consistent and therefore, it adds a

lot of control and precision to its process and result. The methods of monitoring are consistent to

all projects University wide and a greater amount of control can be exercised over milestone and

deliverables related to the project.

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Clarity - the scope of the project can be made clear through the help of a dedicated framework.

This would ensure that all sections and departments involved are on the same page. The

Framework guides the overall project flow therefore lack of confusion and ambiguity. Everyone

involved in the project would have a clear mindset and would know what is coming next in the

project progress.

Collaboration - since the Framework will clearly define the steps, everyone will be clearly linked

amongst the project team to carry on their share of responsibilities and be able to link it to the

milestones as the project progresses. Everyone’s basics are strong and clear, and that clarity leads

to an effective collaboration for the project as a whole.

Continuity - the Project Management framework enables all projects in the University to follow

the same approach. This continuity strengthens existing knowledge and helps develop new

participants in the project. Though each project may be unique, if all follow the framework the

problems and requirements in different projects can be streamlined. Thus at times solutions and

lessons learnt from one project can be used in the other with slight modification and advice from

the Senior Management Team.

Capability - the training and mental clarity provided by the Project Management Framework

enables the project group to handle even the most complicated projects with relative ease. This

will improve the projects teams and the University’s overall capability to deliver better quality and

more efficient results without putting in any substantial extra work. The capabilities and talents

of the project team will be used for the intended purpose rather than being deployed to

surrounding minor results.

Communication - the Project Management framework helps bridge communication difference.

Given that the University has a large number of medium to large projects, the stakeholders and

project team is formed by individuals from differing backgrounds. A proper communication

channel helps establish a better information flow and clarity amongst all stakeholder groups.

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4. Scope

a) This framework applies to all types of projects, including but not limited to capital projects, IT projects,

Re-engineering and automation projects, development assistance projects, and research projects.

b) It covers projects funded by the University, member countries or other development partners or join

ventures.

c) This framework and all projects must operate within the University’s financial regulations, policies

and procedures.

5. Definitions

• Benefits Realization Analysis means: the process of identifying, executing and measuring benefits. A

benefit is the measureable improvement resulting from an outcome perceived as an advantage by

one or more stakeholders, in the case of the University, such benefit must be realized by maximum

sections and departments.

• Business Case means: a document based on an operational or strategic need that has been identified

from within a business unit. It should provide justification for undertaking a project and outline key

information such as objectives, benefits and funding of the proposed project.

• End of Phase Report means: a document used to show how a project phase has performed against

targets and the changes that should be made to subsequent phases to achieve the project outcomes.

• Issue means: a realised risk, i.e. a problem or concern that has emerged and if not addressed is

expected to affect the project timeframes or outcomes.

• Issue Register means: a document that captures and maintains information on all formal project

issues and is monitored by the Project Manager throughout the project.

• Post Implementation Review means: a review that is conducted after a project is completed to ensure

that the project has met its objectives and the outcomes meet the requirements of users and

stakeholders. The review also considers the extent to which projected benefits have been realised

and whether further recommendations are appropriate.

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• Program means: projects that are grouped together to achieve a common solution to a foreseen

business requirement or strategic priority. Projects within a program will typically have shared

objectives that are linked to the organisational unit plan.

• Project means: a body of work with distinct start and end dates that progresses through defined

phases and adheres to a formal project management methodology. It results in the transformation of

a business function and/or delivery of one or more outcomes.

• Project Governance means: the framework within which project decisions are made. The governance

structure ensures a consistent and predictable delivery of projects by recommending a standard

approach to achieving project objectives and monitoring project performance.

• Project Initiation Document (PID) means: the core project document that brings together the key

information needed to start a project on a sound basis and to convey that information to the project

stakeholders.

• Project Management means: the discipline of planning, organising, securing and managing resources

to bring about the successful completion of specific project objectives. It is the process of using proven

tools and techniques to manage the scope, time and cost of a project.

• Project Manager means: the role responsible for the day-to-day management of the project

objectives, tasks and the project team.

• Project Network Coordinator means: a function that is intended to build USP’s project management

capability by fostering a community of project management practitioners that promotes collaboration

and the sharing of information among project managers.

• Project Phase means: a grouping of similar activities within the project lifecycle. Phases are sequential

in that one phase should be largely completed before the next phase of the project is started. The

Project Management Lifecycle identifies the five major phases of the project lifecycle – Pre-initiate,

Initiate, Plan, Implement and Close.

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• Project Sponsor means: the role that has overall responsibility for ensuring that a project meets its

objectives and delivers the projected benefits. The Sponsor is considered the champion of the project

and is ultimately accountable for the project outcomes. The Project Sponsor for medium and large

projects should be a member of the Executive Planning Group.

• Project Stakeholder means: a party with an interest in the execution and outcome of a project.

• Project Management Group means: the key governance body within the project governance

structure. It provides guidance on the overall strategic direction of the project and endorses

recommendations from the Project Manager.

• Project Team Member means: an individual who is responsible for undertaking project tasks as

directed by the Project Manager.

• Project Working Group means: the group that is responsible for supporting a project by contributing

skills and knowledge to the project as required and passing on project information to respective

stakeholders as appropriate.

• Risk means: a threat to the successful delivery of a project that has a higher likelihood of becoming

an issue without appropriate mitigation strategies being put in place. Risks are often grouped into

categories so that the proposed mitigation strategy addresses a multiple of potential eventualities or

issues that might emerge, e.g. Financial Risk captures budget exceedance, funding risks and

commercial success (i.e. revenue).

• Risk Register means: a record of identified risks relating to a project, including their status, history

and mitigation strategies.

• Baseline: Original approved Project Scope, timeline and cost, a place.

• Gantt Chart: Graphic display of activities in the schedule represented by bars charts. A Gantt chart

uses horizontal bars to illustrate project completion dates, progress, and milestones, as well as

dependencies.

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• WBS: Work Breakdown Structure – Hierarchical representation of deliverables, each level represents

more detail and definition.

• Problem Statement: a concise description of an issue to be addressed or a condition to be improved

upon; its impact on stakeholders and successful solution. Focusing on the facts, the problem

statement should be designed to address the 5 W’s – who, what, where, when, and why.

• Project Scope: A paragraph describing the characteristics of a project and sum of the product or

services. If a date is a driver or budget is a driver put this in the scope definition.

• Project Charter: A project charter provides a bird's eye view of the project by describing a preliminary

framework of the project's goals, scope and high level deliverables. It demonstrates the commitment

of the organization and senior management to the project and provides formal agreement about the

projects details.

6. USP Project Management Model

The key components of the USP Project Management Model are:

Project Management Team

Role of a Project Co-coordinator

Five Phases of Project Management

Project Risk Assessment

Issue Management Framework

Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Plan

Succession Planning

Risk/ Issues Register

6.1 Project Management Team

The Project Management Team could either be a task force oriented or a matrix based team. In most cases

in the University a matrix based team is currently being used. This however, can be seen as a major

disadvantage when monitoring project progress. Since the matrix based approach picks and selects

relevant member representatives from across the University, the Team decision and meetings are usually

dragged over a period of time given the major challenge of all members to meet up at a regular timing.

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Whereas if the University chooses a task force team, the team has full time staff and thus greater

commitment towards seeing project completion in the timeline agreed to.

The decision to engage either of the above solely depends on the urgency of project completion and the

funding the University is willing to inject in the project.

The overall role of the Project Management Team is to provide advice, drive delivery of the project outputs

and the achievement of the project outcomes. This may include tasks such as:

Providing input to the development of the project;

Providing advice on the budget;

Defining and helping to achieve the project outcome;

Identifying the priorities in the project;

Identify potential risks;

Monitoring risks;

Monitoring timelines;

Monitoring the quality of the project as it develops;

Providing advice about changes to the project as it develops.

The framework recommends that for any identified project within the University it should consider a

Project Management Team which must include stakeholders and individuals from various sections and

departments who have relevant expertise to effectively contribute to the project implementation.

Further, best practice also suggests a dedicated team solely put together for the purpose of the project

ensures 100% commitment to achieving of the project outcome. Therefore, this framework strongly

recommends for the Project Management Team to have a few full time dedicated project staff with a

combination of skill and knowledge set from across sections and departments such as IT, Finance, Human

Resource, Science, Trade and others to ensure knowledge balance and maximum commitment.

It is imperative for the above team to meet on a regular basis and be updated on project milestone and

timelines. All project documents from planning, scoping and risk assessment, reporting structure,

requirements and timelines should be presented to the Project Management Team for review and

approval.

The size of a project is defined as being small, medium or large. The Project Sizing Guidelines is a document

that provides guidance to the Project Sponsor and Project Manager in determining the size of a project.

6.2 Project Manager/ Co-coordinator

A project manager has the functional responsibility of the project and has to perform a range of roles. For

the University, the Project Manager need to be sufficiently senior in order to be able to coordinate the

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activities and resources required to complete the given project. As per the framework and best practices

the Project Manager must;

Define the project; including specifications, scope, budget and cost;

Organize and then manage the team for the project, this includes deciding on the activities that

need to be performed and coordinating the personnel and other resources required to meet the

project deliverables;

Take responsibility for meeting the targets and deliverables for the project on an ongoing basis,

as well as the final deliverables; and

Manage problems as they arise.

Through this framework it is recommended that the University must consider the following skills and

expertise before appointing a Project Manager/ Coordinator;

Technical

Process skills- while Project Managers are often from a specialized background, they need to

be trained in a range of project management skills such as critical-path analysis and

management, and capital budgeting.

Project-specific skills- technical skills that relate to the objectives of the project such as IT skills

in a process re-engineering project.

A good general knowledge of all aspects of the project so that they can discuss the technical

work and understand the technical data used.

Interpersonal

Communication skills- to provide the required knowledge and information to people involved

in the project in an unambiguous way. This includes the ability to listen to what is being

communicated by others.

Problem-solving skills- completing projects usually involves dealing with the unexpected,

including opportunities and problems. Part of this skill requires project managers to foresee

and detect problems before they arise or escalate. For instance if a component of the project

requires specific technical skills from some respective section or departments or if needs to

be sourced outside of the University, this needs to be addressed before it becomes critical to

the completion of the project.

Insight- to manage significant amounts of data and to establish what is relevant. Often, some

project data is incomplete, inaccurate and misleading.

Negotiation- to be able to negotiate for extra resources and other expectations, level of

resources, costs, time, responsibility and personality clashes.

Conflict resolution- conflicts can occur in areas such as expectations, level of resources, costs,

time, responsibility and personality clashes.

Leadership- both the tasks and challenges that project managers need to deal with require

considerable capacity for leadership.

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Thus by the enactment of this framework, it may be imperative for the University to ensure that all

projects have assigned Project Managers/ Coordinators with the best set of skills and abilities as

elaborated above.

6.3 Five Phases of Project Management

There are five phases of project management and if the lifecycle provides a high-level view of the

project, the phases are the roadmap to accomplishing it.

Phase 1: Project Initiation

This is the start of the project, and the goal of this phase is to define the project at a broad level. This

phase usually begins with a business case. This is when the projects team will research whether the project

is feasible and if it should be undertaken. If feasibility testing needs to be done, this is the stage of the

project in which that will be completed.

Important stakeholders will do their due diligence to help decide if the project is a “go.” If it is given the

green light, the projects team will need to create a project charter or a project initiation document (PID)

that outlines the purpose and requirements of the project. It should include business needs, stakeholders,

and the business case.

Stakeholder Analysis & Consultations

Understanding the key stakeholders is an important part of successful project management. It is important to know more about the key stakeholders, particularly how they are likely to feel about and react to the project. It is also essential to know how best to engage them in the project and how best to communicate with them. Stakeholder Management is the process of identifying the key stakeholders and winning their support.

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Stakeholder Analysis is the first stage of this, where the project team identifies and starts to understand their most important stakeholders. This requires to first identify all the people who will be affected by the project, have influence over it, or have an interest in its conclusion. The next step is to prioritize them, and to plot this on a Power/Interest Grid. The Stakeholder’s position on the grid shows the actions that the projects team will have to take with them. Following are various types of Stakeholders who are likely to be affected by the project:

High power, interested people: these are the people with whom the projects team must fully engage with, and make the greatest efforts to satisfy.

High power, less interested people: put enough work in with these people to keep them satisfied, but not so much that they become bored.

Low power, interested people: keep these people adequately informed, and talk to them to ensure that no major issues are arising. These people can often be very helpful with the detail of the project.

Low power, less interested people: again, monitor these people, but do not bore them with excessive communication.

There may be a long list of Stakeholders that are affected by the project. Some of these may have the

power either to block or advance it, some may be interested in what the outcome will be while others

may not care. The final stage is to get an understanding of what motivates the Stakeholders and how they

could be convinced to support the project.

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Phase 2: Project Planning

This phase is key to successful project management and focuses on developing a roadmap that everyone

will follow. This phase typically begins with setting goals. Two of the more popular methods for setting

goals are S.M.A.R.T. and CLEAR:

S.M.A.R.T. Goals – This method helps ensure that the goals have been thoroughly vetted. It also provides

a way to clearly understand the implications of the goal-setting process.

Specific – To set specific goals, answer the following questions: who, what, where, when, which, and why.

Measurable – Create criteria that you can use to measure the success of a goal.

Attainable – Identify the most important goals and what it will take to achieve them.

Realistic – You should be willing and able to work toward a particular goal.

Timely – Create a timeframe to achieve the goal.

C.L.E.A.R. Goals – A newer method for setting goals that takes into consideration the environment of

today’s fast-paced businesses.

Collaborative – The goal should encourage employees to work together.

Limited – They should be limited in scope and time to keep it manageable.

Emotional – Goals should tap into the passion of employees and be something they can form an emotional

connection to. This can optimize the quality of work.

Appreciable – Break larger goals into smaller tasks that can be quickly achieved.

Refinable – As new situations arise, be flexible and refine goals as needed.

During this phase, the scope of the project is defined and a project management plan is developed. It

involves identifying the cost, quality, available resources, and a realistic timetable. The project plans also

includes establishing baselines or performance measures. These are generated using the scope, schedule

and cost of a project. A baseline is essential to determine if a project is on track.

At this time, roles and responsibilities are clearly defined, so everyone involved knows what they are

accountable for.

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Project Budgeting

A project budget approved by the Senior Management Team has several important functions and these

includes and not restricted to;

It is a plan to allocate resources to project activities. As the SMT approves a project budget, they

also approve the use of resources determined in the plan.

It facilitates the control of project costs

It is the main benchmark used to evaluate projects financial success.

Keeps the project team mindful of any unnecessary expenditure that might cause cost overrun.

Given the nature of projects at the University, project expenses can be allocated to project as a whole.

Similarly, use of account codes can be used to tag each type of project costs. Given a capital project, it

would also have other related expenses which can be tagged to a dedicated account code. However the

overall budget and expenditure shall be made available at a given point in time through project fund

codes.

Phase 3: Project Execution

This is the phase where deliverables are developed and completed. This often feels like the meat of the

project since a lot is happening during this time, like status reports and meetings, development updates,

and performance reports. A “kick-off” meeting usually marks the start of the Project Execution phase

where the teams involved are informed of their responsibilities.

Tasks completed during the Execution Phase include:

Develop team

Assign resources

Execute project management plans

Procurement management if needed

Project Manager directs and manages project execution

Set up tracking systems

Task assignments are executed

Status meetings

Update project schedule

Modify project plans as needed

While the project monitoring phase has a different set of requirements, these two phases often occur

simultaneously.

Phase 4: Project Performance/Monitoring

This is all about measuring project progression and performance and ensuring that everything happening

aligns with the project management plan. Project Managers will use key performance indicators (KPIs) to

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determine if the project is on track. A Project Manager will typically pick two to five of these KPIs to

measure project performance:

Project Objectives: Measuring if a project is on schedule and budget is an indication if the project will

meet stakeholder objectives.

Quality Deliverables: This determines if specific task deliverables are being met.

Effort and Cost Tracking: Project Managers will account for the effort and cost of resources to see if the

budget is on track. This type of tracking informs if a project will meet its completion date based on current

performance.

Project Performance: This monitors changes in the project. It takes into consideration the amount and

types of issues that arise and how quickly they are addressed. These can occur from unforeseen hurdles

and scope changes.

During this time, Project Managers may need to adjust schedules and resources to ensure the project is

on track.

Phase 5: Project Closure

This phase represents the completed project. Contractors hired to work specifically on the project are

terminated at this time. Valuable team members are recognized. Some Project Managers even organize

small work events for people who participated in the project to thank them for their efforts. Once a project

is complete, a Project Managers will often hold a meeting – sometimes referred to as a “post mortem” –

to evaluate what went well in a project and identify project failures. This is especially helpful to understand

lessons learned so that improvements can be made for future projects.

Once the project is complete, PMs still have a few tasks to complete. They will need to create a project punch list of things that didn’t get accomplished during the project and work with team members to complete them. Perform a final project budget and prepare a final project report. Finally, they will need to collect all project documents and deliverables and store them in a single place.

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Project Reporting

As highlighted in the earlier sections of this framework, regular feedback is mandatory in terms of project

success at each phase. Milestone reports and budget variance analysis must be produced as a key update

in each of the Project Management Team meeting.

Typically, a final report is prepared at the end of the project. This usually contains an overview, the major

outcomes, how these related to the original specifications, budget and variance analysis data and an

analysis of the administrative and functional performance of those respective sections and departments

involved in the project. Depending on the Senior Management Teams response, this can be seen as a fairly

political exercise. Thus it is the responsibility of the Project Manager/ Coordinator to explain to the SMT

any major cost overruns and milestones that may have been compromised as a result of budget and time

constraints.

This framework recommends for the project final report to embrace the lessons learned from the project

and the suggested solutions proposed by the SMT that can be applied to the future projects of the

University.

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Project Life Cycle Assessment

Development of a project life cycle promotes to successful execution and management of the project.

Every project has certain phases of development. A clear understanding of these phases allows

management to maintain effective control over the project.

This sets the minimum requirements for any given project in its life cycle.

Stages Component Comments

Initiating Sponsor/Owner of product or service Project Charter/Business Need

Problem statement should be

included in the Project Charter

Planning Kick off meeting Stakeholders identified Core project team identified

There may be several kick off

meetings:

Senior Management; Executive Management

Core Project Team Stakeholders

Planning Project Scope; includes out of scope Success Criteria Assumptions Constraints Requirements Roles and Responsibilities Communication Plan Timeline Issues Risks Cost/Budget

Documents Project Scope

If the project does not have a

project charter, problem

statement must be included in

the project scope

Execution Team Meetings Change Request form Updating Issues, Risk Managing RFQ/RFP

Monitoring

and

Control

Progress Reports Executive Summary Reconciling back to scope and problem

statement

Closing Contracts Closed Turnover documents completed Lessons Learned meetings/ Knowledge

Management Team Celebrations Final Budget Closing the cost records Post project expenditure Resource Dispersion Final Report

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As per above suggested outline, it is imperative for the University to develop a project life cycle for all

project undertaken. This will give visibility to the project and hence placing emphasis on expected

deliverables and the project timelines.

6.4 Risk Assessment

Project risk management is the process of identifying, analyzing and then responding to any risk that arises

over the life cycle of a project to help the project remain on track and meet its goal. Risk management is

not reactive only; it should be part of the planning process to figure out risk that might happen in the

project and how to control that risk if it in fact occurs. This assessment requires University wide

involvement in terms of value added risk reporting and risk management.

A risk is anything that could potentially impact a project’s timeline, performance or budget. Risks are

potentialities, and in a project management context, if they become realities, they then become classified

as “issues” that must be addressed. Therefore, risk management is the process of identifying, categorizing,

prioritizing and planning for risks before they become issues.

Risk management can mean different things on different types of projects. On large-scale projects, risk

management strategies might include extensive detailed planning for each risk to ensure mitigation

strategies are in place if issues arise. For smaller projects, risk management might mean a simple,

prioritized list of high, medium and low priority risks.

1. Create a risk register

Create a risk register for the project in a spreadsheet. This may include fields for: date of the risk being

logged, risk description, likelihood, impact, owner, risk response, action and status.

2. Identify risks

The Project team needs to brainstorm all current risks for the project with the project’s key team members

and stakeholders. Go through all the factors that are essential to completing the project and ask people

about their concerns or any potential problems. Identify risks that relate to requirements, technology,

materials, budget, people, quality, suppliers, legislation, and any other element you can think of.

3. Identify opportunities

When risks are identified it is important to also factor in positive risks and opportunities. For example,

include all events that in some ways could affect the project in a positive manner. What would the impact

be, for instance, if too many people turned up to the concert? What could be done to exploit this

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opportunity and plan for it? Just as the team anticipates and plan for problems, it prepares for unlikely

successes.

4. Determine likelihood and impact

Next is to establish how likely the risk is to occur (on a scale from 1-5) and determine the impact of each

risk according to time, cost, quality, and even benefits if it were to occur (again on a scale from 1-5). For

example, a likelihood of five could mean that the risk is almost certain to occur, and an impact of four

could mean that the risk would cause serious delays or significant rework if it were to happen.

5. Determine risk response

To determine the risk response the team needs to pay attention on those risks that have the highest

potential impact and likelihood of happening (i.e., an estimate of three or more on the scale mentioned

in No. 4). Identify what you can do to lower the likelihood and impact of each risk. To lower the impact,

get to the root cause by asking why, why, why?

6. Estimate the risks

Once it has been determined what will be to address each risk, the team needs to estimate how much it

will cost to do so. For example, using the concert example—how much will it cost to look after the

performer’s health before the show, and how much will it cost to prepare for a backup? Provide a range

of estimates (best case/worst case) and add the aggregated cost of these risk responses to your overall

project estimate as contingency.

7. Assign owners

Assign an owner to each risk. The owner should be the person who is most suited to deal with a particular

risk and to monitor it. Assign risk owners with involvement from the team and stakeholders to get the

best possible buy-in. Collaborate on the best possible actions that need to be taken, and by when.

8. Regularly review risks

Set aside time at least once a week to identify new risks and to monitor the progress of all logged items.

Risk management is not an exercise that only happens at the beginning of the project, but something that

must be attended to in all of the project’s lifecycles.

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9. Report on risks

The Project coordinator needs to ensure that all risks with an impact and likelihood of four-and-higher (on

the 1 – 5 scale; see No. 4) are listed on the status report. Encourage a discussion of the top 10 risks at

Management Team meetings so that executives get a chance to provide input and direction.

Template for Risk Register

# Status Priority Regarding Date

Opened Description Action plans

Assigned to

1 Urgent

2 High

3 Medium

4 Low

Risk Management Strategies:

Having the right project team- this helps the team to be filled with people who have the skills, knowledge

and experience to take the project to success which must be treated fairly as well.

Monitor Known Risks- a diagnostic approach is used in which performance measures and risk registers

are used to address risks that will be obvious to the project team.

Monitor Unknown Risks- these are risks that the project team has no idea about that can be addressed

through interactive controls where the project team has to stay alert and involved in the ongoing process

of the risk management. Thus, when these risks become visible to the team then they manage.

Establish contingency responses- this is used to manage both known and unknown risks which consist of

action plans used in circumstances where things go wrong and hinders the project to achieve its

objectives. Hence, this can only be used with the recommendation of the project sponsor in times of

known/unknown risks.

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6.5 Issue Management Framework for Specific Projects

Project issue management is the process of identifying and resolving issues. Problems with staff or

suppliers, technical failures, material shortages might all have a negative impact on the project.

Unresolved issues create unnecessary conflicts, delays, or even failure to produce project deliverable.

Creating an issue log provides a tool for reporting and communicating what's happening with the project.

This makes sure that issues are indeed raised, and then investigated and resolved quickly and effectively.

Without a defined process, you risk ignoring issues, or not taking them seriously enough – until it's too

late to deal with them successfully.

An issues log allows you to do the following:

Have a safe and reliable method for the team to raise issues.

Track and assign responsibility to specific people for each issue.

Analyze and prioritize issues more easily.

Record issue resolution for future reference and project learning.

Monitor overall project health and status.

The Issue Management Framework will deal with the processes for dealing following:

How to assign responsibilities by identifying key problem – vendor issue, technical issue

How will you know when to escalate an issue to management or the Project Management Team?

Which criteria will determine an issue's priority status?

Who will set the target resolution date?

How will issues be communicated within the team? Will you use regular meetings, log checks,

status update emails, and so on?

How will you identify different issues if several occur during one project?

If change orders are needed, how will those be handled?

When the resolution affects the budget or schedule, what will the update process be, and who

will be responsible?

The issue management framework should be able to resolve the problem quickly and then move on, with

as little impact to the project as possible. The framework provides a structure for making decisions when

issues arise.

6.6 Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Plan

Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) and Business Continuity Plan (BCP) are integral parts of the overall risk

management for an organization. Since all of the risks cannot be eliminated, organizations are

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implementing DRP and BCP to prepare for possible disruptive events. Both these plans are equally

important since it provides detailed strategies and processes on how the organization or project will

continue after severe interruptions and disasters.

The above can be achieved in conjunction with the development of a comprehensive risk register where

the University can identify the specific contingency plans for the risk being identified.

6.7 Project Succession Planning/ Knowledge Management

Each project may be unique in terms of the outcome that is to be achieved. However, the University can

enforce a process whereby much useful knowledge can be gained from the process of project

management. The Project Finance Officer can provide value by ensuring that organizational learning

occurs, particularly about the cost and budget data and also about the non-financial performance data

that might have been collected.

The final cost information can provide a useful knowledge resource for estimating the cost of future

projects.

The Project team shall prepare a brief presentation to the Senior Management Team at the conclusion of

each project over a certain threshold on the following:

What problems appeared during the project?

What is the impact of these problems?

What caused them, and why were they not anticipated or detected any earlier?

It is recommended for the project team to maintain a project diary which would provide evidence or quick

response to the above questions. Overall, the University should maintain a Project Register which would

provide such details on individual projects.

6.8 Maintaining USP Project Register

A Project Register shall be established and maintained for medium and large projects to promote the USP

Project Management Model and to assist staff to develop project management knowledge. Project

Sponsors and Project Managers are encouraged to record and update project information on the Project

Register to:

a) Increase the visibility of projects and processes to the University community;

b) Raise awareness and understanding of the scope of project work undertaken by the

University;

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c) Improve the way in which projects are monitored and managed as they progress; and

d) Provide information about the history and status of projects to ensure appropriate scoping of future

projects.

Each project registered will specify minimal metadata fields to allow for meaningful searching of key terms

and contact people.

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Appendix

Two key issues apparent in projects

Issues Preventative Measures

1. Previous practices and experiences cannot be learned from as all projects are unique

Centralized Issue Register

Align university’s organizational values with project team values

2. The consequences of poor project decisions has drastic impact on the later phases of the project future that are not visible in the immediate stages

Constant monitoring of the projects in terms of time, cost, quality and specifications with the best practices and tools outlined above.

Whistleblower policy needed in circumstances of unethical issues experienced/identified.

Proposed Project Management Structure

PMT

E&I

SPAC ITReseach

Office

P&Q

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References

1. Australian Catholic University

https://policies.acu.edu.au/governance/project_management

2. Massey University

http://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/staffroom/framework-guide/university-management/university-

management_home.cfm#ProjectManagementFramework

3. Liquid Planner

https://www.liquidplanner.com/blog/9-steps-risk-management-process/

4. Project Manager

https://www.projectmanager.com/blog/risk-management-process-steps

5. University of California

https://www.ucop.edu/pmo/_files/20110304b_Project_Management%20Framework.pdf

6. Bangor University

https://www.bangor.ac.uk/cpb/documents/Project%20Management%20Framework%20v2%20Mar

ch%202017.pdf

7. SmartSheet

https://www.smartsheet.com/blog/demystifying-5-phases-project-management

8. Brown, D., Clarke, B., Clowes, C., Collier, P., Malmi, T. and Robinson, P. (2016). CPA Program Strategic

Management Accounting. 16th ed. Deakin University, pp.503-563.

Related Documents

1. Project Sizing Procedures

2. Project Team Relationships